Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News
Malaysia Today - Your Source of Independent News |
- M’sia Day marred by whiff of graft, clamour for secession
- WIKILEAKS: PM ABDULLAH'S AIDE ON ANWAR, ELECTIONS AND NAJIB
- Ah Q conception of history
- GERPAR!! RM80,000 Sebulan Untuk Parpukari Bagi Kerja-Kerja Fitnah?
- Invitation to the MCLM forums on Rakyat Reform Agenda (RARA)
- Pembangkang tidak perlu berunding dengan BN untuk tentukan tarikh PRU
- Right only until proven wrong
- Opposition pact’s seat negotiations hit snag in 5 states
- Do you have problems with a slow browser?
- HRP demands 23 seats from Pakatan
- ‘Najib must ban Merdeka fests, history books’
- PAS chief calls Umno/BN a ‘disease’
- After ousting Pak Lah, Mahathir now turns to Najib?
- MINTA MAAF - SATU KESILAPAN BESAR
- Fighting in the cause of Islam
- Formidable hurdles in KL's education reform
- Ringgit Slides as Europe Crisis Damps Risk Taking; Bonds Drop
- Chief Jester’s Circus and Charade Comes to a Close
- Stop squabbling for seats, DAP tells Pakatan allies
- PAS claims Dr M out to oust Najib
- Malacca was a roadside toilet-stop
- The Role of the Left in the Struggle for Independence
- Malaysian rapper skewers racial ties in new film
- Malaysia PM: Expect To Touch 5% Economic Growth In 2011
- MAS sponsorship for Queen Park Rangers jersey to cost RM18mil
- Najib: NEP to stay, but with modifications
| M’sia Day marred by whiff of graft, clamour for secession Posted: 14 Sep 2011 05:00 AM PDT HORNBILL UNLEASHED Keruah Usit Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud has been shaken by the recent announcement of a probe by the German government into his financial deals with Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank. Three European environmentalist and human rights NGOs had triggered the investigation by writing to Chancellor Angela Merkel, urging her to freeze the Taib family's assets in Germany. The NGOs – the Bruno Manser Fund, Society for Threatened Peoples and Rainforest Rescue – alleged Deutsche Bank provides a respectable front for company assets owned by Taib and his family in North America. "Deutsche Bank International's Jersey and Cayman branches are administering the Jersey-based Sogo Holdings Ltd, through which several illicit Taib family assets in the US are held," the NGOs claimed in a joint statement. "In Malaysia, Deutsche Bank is running joint ventures with Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS), the Taib family's business flagship, under the names of K&N Kenanga Holdings and Kenanga Deutsche Futures." Deutsche Bank has offices in Kuala Lumpur and Labuan. The bank has been seeking to expand its private banking network to rope in ever wealthier multimillionaires such as Taib. This is despite the bank struggling with a US government lawsuit accusing it of having misled investors, and with a British Serious Fraud Office investigation into its alleged misrepresentation of asset-backed securities.
Taib postpones Baram dam At home, Taib has also been stirred by local protests into suspending plans to build the ambitious Baram dam. Kayan, Kenyah and Penan locals angrily opposed his plans for forced resettlement of some 20,000 natives for the construction of the dam.
"The beauty (sic) of the Baleh HEP is that it would not affect the livelihood of many people, making it easier to implement as very little resettlement would be involved," he gushed, according to a local daily. Awang Tengah conceded that building the Baram dam would require extra social studies, in apparent reference to the lack of any meaningful social impact assessment (SIA) or environmental impact assessment (EIA) on the Baram dam. The EIA and SIA, required by law for each of the twelve mammoth HEP dams planned by Taib's administration, are all jealously guarded secrets. Local environmentalists say these studies were conducted over two decades ago, and were simply airbrushed to provide impetus to these 'mega projects'.
But Taib must have been unnerved by an open revolt, including scathing condemnation by grassroots NGOs such as the Orang Ulu National Association, Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia, Baram People's Protection Committee, Sahabat Alam Malaysia, Sarawak Indigenous Lawyers' Alliance, Sarawak Native Customary Land Rights Network (TAHABAS) and the pan-Malaysian Natives' Network (Jaringan Orang AsalSeMalaysia). The natives' protests were even covered in the supine local press.
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| WIKILEAKS: PM ABDULLAH'S AIDE ON ANWAR, ELECTIONS AND NAJIB Posted: 14 Sep 2011 01:00 AM PDT
Wan Farid told us in January (ref A) that Abdullah had decided not to welcome Anwar back into UMNO, and there was certainly no hint in our May 15 meeting that UMNO views of Anwar had softened following the heated Ijok by-election. On the contrary, UMNO Secretary General Radzi Sheikh Ahmad on April 31 told reporters, "He (Anwar) will not be taken back. Period." THE CORRIDORS OF POWER Raja Petra Kamarudin Summary 1. (S) Wan Farid (protect throughout), a political aide to Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, argued in a May 15 meeting with polchief that opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim's strategy of addressing national issues in the recent Ijok by-election backfired as voters demonstrated that they care most about local rice bowl matters that only the ruling National Coalition (BN) can address. Lacking his own party machinery, Anwar remains very dependent on the Islamic Party of Malayia (PAS) for grassroots organization. Two recent by-elections signaled a weakening of ethnic Chinese support for the BN, though in the end Chinese voters would have little alternative but to endorse the ruling Coalition. Wan Farid and other advisors have recommended PM Abdullah curtail international travel after June and concentrate instead on touring Malaysian states in preparation for the next election. International affairs would not play an important role with voters on election day. Prime Minister Abdullah concluded that Deputy Prime Minister Najib had no connection to the sensationalistic murder of a Mongolian woman, and the PM continues to support Najib's party position. There remains concern, however, over information the defense counsel could raise in the June murder trial of Najib's former advisor and two policemen. End Summary. Anwar Miscalculates in Ijok 2. (C) Opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim miscalculated in the April 28 Ijok by-election by focusing on national issues, Wan Farid told polchief May 15, echoing commentary in many Malaysian political circles. (Comment: The Ijok by-election was seen as the final litmus test of political party support before the next national election; BN defeated Anwar's candidate by 59 to 40 percent. End Comment.) For example, Anwar tried to attack DPM Najib and BN using the Mongolian murder case (ref B), but most voters remained ignorant of the issue and, Wan Farid joked, thought that Altantuya (the murder victim) was the latest Indonesian pop singer. In addition, Anwar's People's Justice Party (PKR) had almost no grassroots presence, Wan Farid noted, and had to rely very heavily on the opposition Islamist party, PAS. In the end, PAS members would not go all out to support Anwar and PKR. Wan Farid noted with satisfaction that television cameras caught Anwar Ibrahim dancing a jig at an Ijok campaign rally and that such "un-Islamic" behavior would not go down well with PAS members. (Comment: Government-controlled television media gave widespread coverage to Anwar's modest dance along with commentary that such movements were inappropriate for an Islamic leader. End Comment.) UMNO Machine Dominates 3. (C) BN and the leading United Malays National Organization (UMNO), in contrast to Anwar, knew that voters focused on local rice bowl issues, Wan Farid affirmed. Malaysian voters responded to immediate projects in their neighborhoods, not to abstract national concerns. BN has the resources to deliver the communities' needs and UMNO has the extensive party machinery that can allocate one party worker for every five voters. No other party comes close to UMNO in this regard. Chinese Support Wanes, but Has No Alternative 4. (C) Wan Farid admitted that ethnic Chinese support for BN had waned based on results in the past two by-elections, Machap and Ijok. A decrease in Chinese support "supposedly" is a result of the heated Malay racial rhetoric and "kris-waving" during UMNO's party conference in November 2006, at least that was the rationale of Chinese leaders within BN. However, the Chinese were practical people and in the end they would endorse BN as their only realistic alternative, Wan Farid concluded. (Comment: DPM Najib's political secretary Fatmi Salleh (protect) expressed similar concerns over BN's loss of Chinese voters during an April 16 meeting with polchief. Fatmi's comments followed the previous by-election in Machap, which witnessed a BN win, but also a significant decrease in BN votes in several Chinese sub-districts. End Comment.) PM Advised to Curtail Foreign Travel, Focus on Pre-Campaign 5. (C) Wan Farid said that he and other advisors had asked PM Abdullah to curtail his overseas travel after planned trips in June to Afghanistan, the Middle East and Russia. Instead, beginning in July the Prime Minister should begin touring all Malaysian states in preparation for the national election (the date for which has yet to be set). The Prime Minister still might travel abroad for "must do" events, such as the UN General Assembly. Otherwise, Abdullah should spend his time within Malaysia. In response to our question, Wan Farid said international affairs would play little or no role with voters come election day. Although advisors wanted the PM to begin pre-campaign activities in July, they also were weighing the "feel good" factor among voters. This would depend somewhat on money from government contracts under the Ninth Malaysia Plan reaching medium-scale businesses, a consideration that would support holding elections in a year's time, Wan Farid noted. Najib Retains Abdullah's Confidence 6. (S) Wan Farid said Prime Minister Abdullah had concluded his deputy Najib Tun Razak was not involved in the 2006 murder of a Mongolian woman, Altantuya Shaariibuu (ref B). (Comment: In late 2006, Wan Farid reportedly carried out an inquiry at Abdullah's behest that supported this conclusion, ref A.) Najib's former advisor Razak Baginda and two police officers from Najib's security detail will stand trial in June for the murder of the Mongolian national. Wan Farid said Razak Baginda initially had asked for Najib's intervention. Najib might have agreed, Wan Farid said, if this had been "only a case of corruption," but Najib did not wish to get involved in a murder cover-up. As a result of Abdullah's continued support, Najib's government and party positions were not in jeopardy. 7. (C) Wan Farid was certain that government prosecutors would limit their trial activities to the murder itself and the three defendants; prosecutors would not follow up on allegations of related corruption or other suspects. Wan Farid admitted, however, that there remains concern that the defense counsel would bring up extraneous information that could embarrass Najib or the government: "You can't predict or control what the defense will say in open court." Future Foreign Minister? 8. (C) Wan Farid stated that Foreign Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Ahmad Shabery Cheek was UMNO's choice to succeed Syed Hamid Albar as Foreign Minister at some point in the future. Ahmad Shabery Cheek "is being groomed for the role," Wan Farid claimed, while noting Shabery's qualities as an effective UMNO politician. (Comment: We do not have other indications that the relatively young Shabery, who is not known as an UMNO heavyweight, will be the next Foreign Minister. End Comment.) Comment 9. (C) Wan Farid speaks as an insider and loyalist to PM Abdullah. Although he argued that Anwar Ibrahim posed no real political challenge, Wan Farid nevertheless focused much of our discussion and his criticism on the former Deputy Prime Minister and far less on the leading opposition party PAS. Wan Farid told us in January (ref A) that Abdullah had decided not to welcome Anwar back into UMNO, and there was certainly no hint in our May 15 meeting that UMNO views of Anwar had softened following the heated Ijok by-election. On the contrary, UMNO Secretary General Radzi Sheikh Ahmad on April 31 told reporters, "He (Anwar) will not be taken back. Period." 10. (C) Guessing the timing of the next national election remains a popular pastime for Malaysian elites and Kuala Lumpur's diplomats. Despite reference to the time needed for public funds to trickle down, Wan Farid left us with a clear impression he expected the elections to take place this year. Election Commission officials quietly have begun training public school administrators on managing polling stations, one sign that the election might take place in the near term. An unsubstantiated rumor among school officials pegs the election in the August/September 2007 timeframe. Malaysia has never held a national election during the Muslim fasting month, which this year falls mid-September to mid-October. If Abdullah is looking to capitalize on a "feel good" factor, scheduling elections in proximity to the 50th Independence Day celebrations on August 31 might provide an opportunity. LAFLEUR (MAY 2007)
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| Posted: 13 Sep 2011 10:48 PM PDT Denying that we were ever colonized by the British is certainly a novel interpretation but intensely "Ah Q" if you ask me. I do believe our learned professors have got their intellectual knickers in a knot simply because they wanted to show that our gallant men at Bukit Kepong were not defending British colonialism and thus, chastise Mat Sabu in the process. By Kua Kia Soong (Director of Suaram) The Professors' Council's recent pronouncement that Malaya was never colonized by the British reminds me of the "Ah Q conception of history". Ah Q was of course China's most famous modern writer Lu Xun's euphemism for a people's self-deception. In Lu Xun's fable about the Chinese national character of his time, the feckless Ah Q would put on a ludicrous front of self-deception even in the face of extreme defeat and humiliation; he was a bully to the underdog but sickeningly deferential to the powerful mandarins. Denying that we were ever colonized by the British is certainly a novel interpretation but intensely "Ah Q" if you ask me. I do believe our learned professors have got their intellectual knickers in a knot simply because they wanted to show that our gallant men at Bukit Kepong were not defending British colonialism and thus, chastise Mat Sabu in the process. To think that all these 54 years of celebrating Merdeka was all an elaborate farce is as much a smack in the face for the Alliance and BN leaders who have ruled this country since 1957. Maybe that is why UMNO and the BN leaders have not picked up the cue from our learned professors. If the learned professors had bothered to scrutinize the enabling document, in this case the Federation of Malaya Independence Act 1957, they would instantly read in its preamble: "…establishment of the Federation as an independent sovereign country…for the termination of Her Majesty's sovereignty and jurisdiction in respect of the said settlements, and of all other Her power and jurisdiction in and in respect of the Malay states or the Federation as a whole…" Certainly any historian who obfuscates the fact that British colonization of Malaya was for exploitation of our natural resources and cheap labour would be suffering a serious case of intellectual jaundice. British historians Christopher Bayly and Tim Harper in their recent book "Forgotten Wars: The End of Britain's Asian Empire" have written: "(Southeast Asia) exported two-thirds of the world's tin, and British Malaya alone provided half the world's production of rubber…These industrial colonies were a major buttress of the sterling area…Japan's blitzkrieg to the south in 1941 had as its principal target the oilfields of British Borneo and Sumatra, and the iron and bauxite mines of Malaya…The economic resources of Southeast Asia were seen by Britain as so vital to its domestic recovery that it was willing to expend an unprecedented amount of blood and treasure in its reconquest." (Penguin, 2007: 11) The history and analysis of the Malayan Emergency is necessarily a class analysis of this colonial exploitation and the classes which collaborated with the British colonial government. At the same time, the anti-colonial struggle must acknowledge the contributions of the patriotic class forces in all the ethnic communities to Independence and nation building. Divide-and-rule strategy was the corner stone of the British colonial power and the communal politics from the Malayan Union (1946) through the Federation of Malaya Agreement (1948) to the final Merdeka Agreement must be understood for us to realize the status quo at Independence and the communalist politics since then. The "Alliance Formula" was rife with contradictions from the start and we are still trying to pick up the pieces today. The repression during the 'Emergency' also enabled the colonial power to exploit sectional interests and thereby isolate the working class from the peasantry.
The Neo-colonial Solution From the Colonial Office and Foreign Office documents of the period uncovered from the Public Records Office in London (published in my latest book "Patriots & Pretenders: The Malayan Peoples' Independence Struggle", Suaram 2011), it has been possible to provide evidence of the thinking and calculation of Western (not only British) imperialism with regard to South-East Asia, but especially the importance laid on securing Malaya for economic, political and military-strategic interests. They show the priority accorded during the Emergency to defeating the anti-colonial forces spearheaded by the workers. The post-war period was also one of re-dividing the world by Western imperialism, which under the hegemony of the US, began to move toward an integration rather than division of interests. These records reveal the articulation of the whole Western, rather than solely British, interest in Malaya. The atmosphere of repression during the 'Emergency' provided the British colonial power with an opportunity to deflect the forces of revolt and effect the neo-colonial accommodation. The entire colonial strategy - especially the aftermath of the Malayan Union crisis - had convinced the British that the custodians of an Independent Malaya would be the traditional Malay aristocracy. This was in keeping with the communalist strategy of British rule throughout their colonization of Malaya. At the same time, the neo-colonial arrangement had to accommodate the upper strata of the non-Malay capitalist class who were a necessary link in the colonial exploitation of the Malayan economy. The vacillating politics of this class, reflecting its narrow and limited material interests, was harnessed by the colonial state. So much so that when the Tunku and the other Alliance representatives went to London to demand independence, their proposals were accepted "on a platter" by the British government. The documents from the British archives also reveal that the 'Alliance Formula' with all its contradictions was devised during the Emergency. The reform measures conceded by the colonial power and grudgingly agreed to by the Malay aristocracy were in many ways necessitated by the ferocity of the revolt. Certainly, the Independence struggle and the Merdeka Agreement have to be understood in class terms – the ruling class in the making represented by UMNO, MCA and MIC on the one side, and the truly anti-colonial forces in the PMCJA-PUTERA coalition representing the workers, peasantry and disenchanted middle class on the other. Thus the so-called "Social Contract" would have looked very different if the "Peoples' Constitution" of the AMCJA-PUTERA coalition had won the day. The so-called 'Social Contract' that has been bandied about by UMNO politicians in recent years claims that there was a "trade-off" at Independence between granting citizenship to the Non-Malays while giving special privileges to the Malays. In fact, this so-called 'Social Contract' has undergone three transformations, so much so that "Malay special privileges" in Malaysia today are a far cry from the status quo ante from 1957 to 1971. The Constitution was amended in 1971 after the 1969 May 13 pogrom while the country was still in a state of emergency and the ascendant Malay capitalist class was in total control of the Malaysian state. Thus, I would urge our learned professors to keep their "interesting" views on "never colonised Malaya" to themselves and not to flaunt them in any respectable academic journals. |
| GERPAR!! RM80,000 Sebulan Untuk Parpukari Bagi Kerja-Kerja Fitnah? Posted: 13 Sep 2011 10:44 PM PDT
By Edyesdotcom Pernahkah anda dengar ayat ini dari Parpukari - "DEMI ALLAH SAYA TAK MAKAN DUIT"? Percayakah jika saya katakan pendapatan parpukari adalah 80ribu sebulan? Tidak menuduh, tetapi menjadi persoalan bagaimana seorang blogger Umno memperolehi sebanyak RM80,000 sebulan ? Apa pekerjaan Parpukari atau nama sebenarnya Mohamad Salim bin Iskandar selain dari blogging? Sahabat saya MiloSuam yang blognya berada di kedudukkan ranking paling atas pun amat jauh sekali untuk mencecah pendapatan RM80ribu sebulan. Blog Parpukari adalah jauh lebih tertinggal daripada blog MiloSuam. Persoalan ini bukan hanya perlu dijawab tetapi perlu disiasat oleh SPRM. Sila lihat slip di bawah yang tertera nama dan nombor IC sekali;
Berikut pula adalah maklumat peribadi parpukari |
| Invitation to the MCLM forums on Rakyat Reform Agenda (RARA) Posted: 13 Sep 2011 09:52 PM PDT
The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement will be officially launching a series of forums nationwide on the 'Rakyat Reform Agenda' beginning from Monday 19th September 2011 in Kuala Lumpur at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) from 7pm - 11pm. It is MCLM's fervent hope that in order for Malaysia to be the great inclusive nation envisioned by our founding fathers, we must return to basic principles. How will we achieve this? The answer - Through the Rakyat Reform Agenda (RARA), which is a four-point plan to: 1. Honour the agreements made in 1963 between the Federation of Malaya and Sabah and Sarawak prior to the formation of the Federation of Malaysia 2. Restore the national institutions to the Rakyat – the judiciary, Election Commission, police force, Attorney-General, etc. 3. Restore the liberties guaranteed to the Rakyat under the Federal Constitution by repealing the ISA, OSA, PPPA, UUCA and Sedition Act 4. Adopt the Social Inclusion Agenda, designed to raise the living standards of all marginalised persons in Malaysia. Apart from Kuala Lumpur, the MCLM RARA forums will also be held in Kota Kinabalu (27th Sep), Sandakan (29th Sep), Kuching (1st Oct), Penang (24th Oct), Ipoh (25th Oct) culminating in Johor Baru (27th Oct). Details on the time and exact venues at these locations will be provided in due course. We would appreciate if you can send your journalist to cover the KL event. MCLM Secretariat
For further information, please contact the MCLM Secretariat at Tel: 03-79827101/79712244 or Fax: 03-79829097 or Email: admin@mclm.org.uk
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| Pembangkang tidak perlu berunding dengan BN untuk tentukan tarikh PRU Posted: 13 Sep 2011 09:31 PM PDT
ASPAN ALIAS Saranan pihak pembangkang untuk kerajaan berunding dengan mereka (pembangkang) untuk menentukan tarikh pilihanraya mendapat tentangan dari Dr Mahathir Mohammad, bekas Perdana Menteri negara. Dr Mahathir menyarankan yang pihak pembangkang menubuhkan dahulu kerajaan dan mereka (pembangkang) boleh menentukan tarikh pilihanraya negara. Selalunya di mana-mana juga di dunia ini kerajaanlah yang menentukan tarikh pilihanraya, bukannya pembangkang. Tetapi Mahathir lupa yang AS tetap mengadakan pilihanraya setelah tamat 4 tahun penggal sesuatu kerajaan yang di pilih itu mentadbir negara itu. Tetapi Mahathir juga betul jika beliau membandingkan negara-negara mundur seperti negara 'favorite' beliau Zimbabwe di Afrika dan banyak negara lain di dunia ini.
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| Posted: 13 Sep 2011 09:03 PM PDT
Right and wrong depends on at what point of time you are looking at the event. And right is only right if no one is bothered to prove it wrong. Until someone can prove it wrong, then it will remain right. So, what is right today can be wrong tomorrow. You just thought you were right because no one came along to prove you wrong. But that does not mean you are right. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, Zulkifli Noordin, Ezam Mohd Nor, Ibrahim Ali, and many of those ilk, are foaming at the mouth and screaming their heads off in the defense of Islam. Basically, you will notice two things. First, they are all ex-opposition people who said some very nasty things about Umno-BN when they were in the opposition and now scream the loudest because they are trying to score points with their new masters. Second, they are Malay-Muslims who want to show that they are holier-than-thou and are more Muslim than even Prophet Muhammad himself. They are of the opinion that they are right, and only they are right, and everyone else is wrong. That reminds me of the man with two Muhammads in his name who screwed the late Sultan's daughter and then swore in the name of Allah he never touched her with a six-inch pole -- and then got caught smuggling money out of Australia, but got acquitted because he no speekee ingeris. Anyway, what these defenders of Islam who are declaring a jihad on DAP in the defense of Islam do not realise is: right and wrong is a matter of opinion. There is no such thing as absolute right or absolute wrong. And just because you THINK you are right does not make you right and everyone else wrong. And just because you THINK you are right does not give you right to call for someone's blood to be spilled. I am sure the butcher who slaughters the cow is of the opinion that he is right in doing so. However, try asking the cow and see if the cow shares this same opinion. What is right to the butcher may not be so to the cow. In that sense, both the cow and the butcher are right. There is no wrong. It is merely two different ways of looking at the same event. Muslims (meaning Malays, of course) are of the opinion that it is right to propagate Islam to the non-Muslims and to try to get them to convert to Islam. In fact, if they can get VVIPs (such as President Obama), superstars (such as Michael Jackson), Christian leaders (such as the Bishop of Canterbury), to convert to Islam, these people will be so proud they will shout from the highest mountain regarding their 'victory'. To the Muslims, this is absolutely right. Of course, the Christians will not share this view. The Christians too would like to see VVIPs, superstars and Muslim leaders convert to Christianity and they too will be so proud they will shout from the highest mountain regarding their 'victory'. To the Christians, this is absolutely right. But the Muslims would be outraged at such a thing. So, who is right and who is wrong? If both are right then certainly there can't be any wrong. And since both sides say they are right and the other side is wrong, how do we resolve this and stop these people from foaming at the mouth and screaming their heads off? That is just it. We can't. When both sides think they are right and the other side is wrong, there is no way to resolve this matter. Thousands of years of history has proven this. Right and wrong depends on at what point of time you are looking at the event. And right is only right if no one is bothered to prove it wrong. Until someone can prove it wrong, then it will remain right. So, what is right today can be wrong tomorrow. You just thought you were right because no one came along to prove you wrong. But that does not mean you are right. This is what those holier-than-thou, self-righteous people do not realise. They think they are right so they foam at the mouth and scream their heads off. And since they think they are right they feel they have the right to demand the blood of those they think are wrong. In the old days, they thought that the plague was caused by witches. So, when the plague hit any community, they rounded up all the women and burned them alive at the stake. All the women got killed until the plague ended. More than one-third the community got wiped out. Eventually, the plague ran its full course and ended by itself. Probably two-thirds of the community somehow had immunity to the plague so they did not die. But this 'proved' that by killing all the women suspected of being witches (which sometimes meant every woman in that community) the plague could be stopped. This was certainly the 'right' thing to do in fighting the plague. And the church agreed with this course of action. In fact, the church was the one burning all these 'witches'. Over time, doctors discovered that the plague was actually spread by rat fleas. So, you fought the plague by burning the rats, not by burning the women. However, in the meantime, thousands of women were burned alive in the mistaken belief that witches and not rat fleas caused the plague. So, yes, hundreds of years ago, that was the 'right' thing to do -- to burn women alive at the stake. No one, not even the church, thought that this was wrong. Today, we know that that was wrong. So, who are these people like Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, Zulkifli Noordin, Ezam Mohd Nor, Ibrahim Ali, and many of those ilk, who are foaming at the mouth and screaming their heads off, to tell us what is right and what is wrong? They think they are right, just like those who burned women alive to fight the plague. But, in time, they will be proven wrong, just like those who burned women alive to fight the plague. Why must everything be about Islam? And why must everything you do not agree with be classified as an insult to Islam? The minute someone disagrees with you, you label that person as an enemy of Islam. And since they are enemies of Islam, then violence is justified. That makes it right. Well, so was burning women alive at the stake hundreds of years ago. That too was the right -- but right only in the minds of small-minded people.
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| Opposition pact’s seat negotiations hit snag in 5 states Posted: 13 Sep 2011 07:59 PM PDT
(Bernama) - The opposition pact's seat negotiations still hit a snag in at least five states as their respective state leaders scramble to resolve the differences. The opposition pact partners, PKR, DAP and PAS, are still unable to finalise the seat negotiations for Johor, Pahang, Sarawak, Perak and Kedah where the leaders have asked for more time to resolve the differences, mostly over overlapping claims. "The August deadline was just a guideline. A few states have asked for extension to resolve the matter. It only involves a few seats, not many," said PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution when contacted yesterday. The opposition leaders were supposed to wrap up negotiations over the allocation of state and parliamentary seats for the next general election as soon as possible to avoid any conflict among the three parties. PAS and DAP are said to be eyeing some parliamentary seats won by PKR in the 2008 general election, but In the 2008 general election, the opposition pact secured 82 parliamentary seats, with PKR emerging as the largest opposition party in Parliament with 31 seats, DAP having 28 and PAS 23. The opposition pact managed to wrest control of four states — Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah — and retained However, seven PKR members of parliament quit the party after the elections and became independents, and BN took back Perak after three state assemblymen (two from PKR and one from DAP) quit their parties and became independent elected representatives. In the recently concluded Sarawak state election, PKR and DAP locked horns over several key seats, which resulted in the much-publicised row between the leaders of the two parties.
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| Do you have problems with a slow browser? Posted: 13 Sep 2011 06:56 PM PDT Does Malaysia Today open too sluggishly? Try using OPERA, which you can download from here: http://www.opera.com/ |
| HRP demands 23 seats from Pakatan Posted: 13 Sep 2011 06:30 PM PDT The Human Rights Party is threatening a 10,000 people protest if Pakatan does not give it seven parliamentary and 16 state seats. (Free Malaysia Today) - The Human Rights Party (HRP) is demanding that Pakatan Rakyat give up seven parliamentary and 16 state assembly seats to HRP to contest in the general election. Failing which, the party's protem secretary P Uthayakumar has threatened that at least 10,000 Indians will protest outside the PKR headquarters. And that, too, on the first Sunday after Parliament has been dissolved. Uthayakumar said the party came to this decision after Pakatan refused to have any dealing with HRP. Speaking at a forum and fund-raising dinner at Sitiawan on Sunday, he said HRP would be contesting in seven parliamentary and 16 state seats in Indian-based constituencies. The seven parliamentary seats are Padang Serai (Kedah), Batu Kawan (Penang), Ipoh Barat (Perak), Kota Raja (Selangor), Teluk Kemang (Negri Sembilan), Cameron Highlands (Pahang) and Tebrau (Johor). The 16 state seats are Bukit Selambau and Lunas (Kedah), Prai and Bagan Dalam (Penang), Buntong and Hutan Melintang (Perak), Port Dickson and Jeram Padang (Negri Sembilan), Tanah Rata and Ketari (Pahang), Puteri Wangsa and Tiram (Johor) and Sri Andalas, Ijok, Seri Setia and Bukit Melawati (Selangor). Uthayakumar said HRP is eyeing four state seats in Selangor because one-third of the Indian population in Malaysia live in Selangor. "In the last general election, we gave Pakatan a chance where for the first time BN lost its two-third parliament majority and lost control of five states." But, he said Pakatan failed to address the problems faced by the Indian community. "So, this time Hindraf would not give a 'blank check' and make the same mistakes. Our demand is very simple. Let's work together and vote Umno out," he added.
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| ‘Najib must ban Merdeka fests, history books’ Posted: 13 Sep 2011 06:26 PM PDT Two NGOs have asked the government to ban Merdeka celebrations and history books until an accurate account of the nation's past is compiled. (Free Malaysia Today) - Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak must ban Merdeka celebrations and history textbooks until an accurate account of the nation's past is compiled. In making the call, two Indian NGOs urged the government to set up an independent team of experts to research the historical facts. Malaysian Indian Progressive Association (MIPAS) president A Rajeretnam said the government must do this since former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed that the information contained in textbooks was inaccurate. Furthermore, he said the Majlis Professor Negara (MPN) also claimed that the country was never colonised by the British. "The public are confused by these statements," he told a press conference here. As for the proposed independent team, Rajaretnam said it should comprise representatives from the opposition as well as NGOs. "The major issues which should be looked into is why we celebrate independence day and why (first prime minister) Tunku Abdul Rahman is considered the 'Father of Independence' if we have never been colonised by the British," he added. He said the government must also clear the air over Malayan Communist Party member Mat Indera (Muhamad Indera) who fought against the British colonial masters. "Datuk Naning, Tok Gajah, Mat Kilau, Maharaja Lela and others have been declared as national heroes. They did the same thing as Mat Indera, which is to fight against the British," he added. He urged Umno not to destroy the real history of Malaysia because of political interest.
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| PAS chief calls Umno/BN a ‘disease’ Posted: 13 Sep 2011 06:17 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang urged voters today to throw out the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government in the next general election because he said the Umno-led coalition was a "disease" that future generations should not be forced to endure. In a strongly-worded Malaysia Day message, Hadi blamed Umno and BN for the decline in the country's competitiveness, rising cost of living and election fraud. "Do not let Malaysia become weaker under the Umno-BN government, because it is our children and grandchildren's generation who will suffer," he said. Hadi's comments come amid the backdrop of an intense row between PAS and Umno over allegations that Mohamad Sabu, his deputy in the party, had labelled a Communist as an independence fighter. Utusan Malaysia had carried a front-page report on August 27 alleging that Mohamad had said that the communists who attacked the Bukit Kepong police station during the communist insurgency were heroes. The Umno-owned daily reported that Mohamad made the remarks at a political ceramah in Tasek Gelugor, Penang on August 21. Mohamad had repeatedly said that Utusan's coverage of his speech at the time was filled with falsehood, and that immediate legal action was required as the "lies" could affect him and his family. "PAS would like to emphasise that we are against all colonists, whether communist or non-communist, from the east or the west," Hadi said today. "It is the instinct of all human beings regardless of background, race, religion and language to live as free and independent people, with a body and mind independent from all forms of slavery. There will be no sane person who wants to live under the shackles of any occupation, let alone have their minds and actions controlled."
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| After ousting Pak Lah, Mahathir now turns to Najib? Posted: 13 Sep 2011 06:16 PM PDT (Harakah Daily) - Prime Minister Najib Razak is increasingly feeling the pressure once heaped on his predecessor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, following a spate of statements coming from former strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
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| MINTA MAAF - SATU KESILAPAN BESAR Posted: 13 Sep 2011 06:00 PM PDT
TUKAR TIUB Kita baru sahaja berhari raya. Masa saya kecik-kecik dulu raya – kami kanak-kanak menganggp hari raya ini satu bulan. Dari lojik kanak-kanak kalau kita berpuasa sebulan maka berhari raya pun wajib satu bulan juga. Jadi, minggu ini saya harapkan kita semua masih lagi berhari raya. Lalu, dihari baik bulan baik ini biarlah saya meminta maaf dari para pembaca sekelian. Saya meminta maaf ini bukan kerana saya buang tabiat. Atau saya dapat seru untuk memulakan perjalanan ke Mekah. Juga bukan kerana saya ternampak Hantu Kopek ketika main mercun pada malam raya dahulu. Saya minta maaf ini kerana saya telah membuat satu kesilapan yang amat besar. Memang besar kesilapan saya ini.
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| Fighting in the cause of Islam Posted: 13 Sep 2011 05:13 PM PDT
Zul Noordin is foaming at the mouth again. He is concerned that there are some people who are insulting Islam. Luckily we have JAKIM and people like Senator Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom to manage JAKIM and to help rehabilitate Muslims who have strayed from the right path and to make sure they all go to heaven and not to hell. NO HOLDS BARRED Raja Petra Kamarudin
'Kaum biaDAP may ruin Malays' Independent MP Zulkifli Noordin warns that should DAP come into power, the Malays' faith in Islam and their moral values may erode. (Free Malaysia Today) - The faith and moral values of the Malays here will erode if the "kaum biaDAP" comes into power, said Barisan Nasional-friendly independent MP Zulkifli Noordin. The Kulim Bandar Baharu MP, in his blog, made scathing remarks against a man whom he claimed had insulted Islam. The individual, whom Zulkifli described as "cursed" (laknatullah), was allegedly a Malay male from Singapore who posted comments insulting Prophet Muhammad on his Facebook page. "There are no more boundaries to the accursed people… according to the records, the barua (bastard) who wrote those things lives in Singapore… maybe this is the work and teaching of (former Singapore prime minister) Caliph Lee Kuan Yew," said the ex-PKR MP. Linking the Singaporean Chinese leader's influence to the Chinese-majority opposition party DAP, Zulkifli said: "Probably, this is what will happen to our Malay children if the biaDAP (rude) party of (Penang chief minister and DAP secretary-general Lim) Guan Eng who is worshiped by the Anwarinas (Anwar Ibrahim's supporters) was to rule this country." Senator Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom, the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in direct charge of Jakim. Wow !! Mahligai mewah Menteri Hal Ehwal Agama? Timbalan Ketua Angkatan Muda KEADILAN, (AMK) Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin menggesa Menteri Di Jabatan Perdana Menteri yang bertanggungjawab terhadap hal ehwal Agama Islam, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir menjelaskan rumah mewahnya yang dianggar menelan jutaan ringgit. Keraguan timbul apabila menteri yang baru dilantik 3 tahun oleh Perdana Menteri dan hanya memiliki gaji tidak menjangkau RM15,000 itu, mampu memiliki kediaman mewah dalam masa yang singkat. "Kalau dia (Jamil Khir) rasa seorang yang berpegang teguh terhadap agama dan ada kebertanggungjawaban terhadap negara, dia perlu jujur menjelaskan kekayaan sebelum dan selepas (menjadi menteri)," katanya mengulas isu yang didedah oleh akhbar Suara Keadilan semalam. Khairul berkata ia bukan perkara memeranjatkan kerana menjadi kebiasaan menteri yang ditadbir Kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) hidup mewah. Beliau merujuk kes bekas Menteri Selangor Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo yang mencetus kontroversi kerana kos kediamannya dikatakan melebihi kemampuan sebagai menteri besar yang berkhidmat selama lapan tahun. "Rakyat pun tidak terperanjat dengan isu yang sudah dianggap biasa ini. Oleh itu, jika beliau (Jamil) ada sedikit rasa tanggungjawab dengan imej dan kedudukannya, beliau perlu tampil memberi penjelasan. "Walaupun (dia) Jamil Khir merupakan Menteri Agama namun ia bukanlah jaminan beliau berperangai seperti Menteri-menteri lain" katanya kepada Keadilandaily. Sebelum ini KEADILAN pernah mempersoalkan kehilangan RM32,000 wang zakat Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (MAIWP) didakwa membiayai yuran guaman Jamil Khir dan Pengarah Jabatan Islam (JAWI), Datuk Che Mat Ali. Ia terbongkar melalui kenyataan media Timbalan Menteri di Jabatan Menteri, Datuk Mashitah Ibrahim, beberapa bulan lalu. Wang zakat tersebut didakwa digunakan bagi menghalang permohonan qazaf Ketua Pembangkang, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim terhadap Saiful Bukhari Azlan, sedangkan Jamil dan Che Mat tidak tergolong dalam kategori yang layak menerima zakat. http://idhamlim.blogspot.com/2011/09/wow-mahligai-mewah-menteri-hal-ehwal.html |
| Formidable hurdles in KL's education reform Posted: 13 Sep 2011 04:20 PM PDT By Salim Osman, The Straits Times Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced last month that a committee had been set up to study the country's education system. Its objective is to recommend ways to overhaul the 50-year-old system. Tan Sri Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, was candid when he explained the reason for the revamp: "Our education policy is not on a par with others." That initial announcement was met with much enthusiasm in Malaysia, especially from parents. Even those critical of the system have thrown their support behind the government initiative. This is a good start, showing support for reform. That the government-led initiative can garner support from different sectors of society suggests that on this issue, at least, people take the government's plan seriously and have high hopes for its success. The committee will have to work hard not to dissipate that goodwill, but to harness it to seek solutions. The reforms are also well-timed, as they seek to align education policy with the economic agenda of Prime Minister Najib Razak to bring the country to the next level of development, with high growth and high income by 2020. Malaysia's education system needs to produce workers who are competitive and skilled technically, and who are proficient in English. Without this essential human capital, no true economic transformation can take place. The government committee will present a report later this year. It faces a daunting challenge. The current education system has been shaped by the Razak Report of 1956. Malay is the medium of instruction in all public schools at primary and secondary levels and at higher institutions of learning. At university level, English is widely used, even though in theory Malay, as the national language, is the only medium of instruction for all subjects. As a political concession to non-Malays, the government allows vernacular schools to exist at primary level, where Chinese or Tamil are the languages for instruction. Secondary-level education in Chinese is only available at independent Chinese schools. There are no English-medium schools as all of them were converted to the Malay stream from 1970, in line with the language and education policy. As part of the affirmative actions under the New Economic Policy of 1971, a number of Malay-only programmes and institutions have been created, such as Mara Junior Science colleges, to raise the number of Malay students studying science. There is also an ethnic quota for admission into local tertiary institutions. Critics say that pro-Malay programmes and policies have deprived Chinese students of an equal opportunity to study in public tertiary institutions, forcing them to enrol in large numbers in private colleges and universities. Ironically, these pro-Malay programmes have forced Chinese students to become trilingual in Chinese, Malay and English, giving them an edge over Malay students who tend to be monolingual. Years of emphasis on Malay as the medium of instruction have taken a toll on English proficiency. Employers have grumbled that graduates of public universities - mostly Malays - have such a poor command of the language that they are not employable for many jobs. The government re-introduced English as the medium for science and mathematics in 2003, but faced strong opposition from Malay nationalists and Chinese educationists. While Malays argued the move would dilute the national language, Chinese educationists felt it would undermine Chinese as a medium of instruction in Chinese schools. In 2009, the government announced that the scheme would be scrapped and that the subjects would be taught in Malay once again from next year. The main reason given by the government was that over 67 per cent of the teachers were not competent enough to teach in English, and that more than 73 per cent of the students were not able to cope with the subjects taught in English. But this has not stopped Malay-led groups like Parent Action Group for Education (Page) to continue pressing for the return of English in the teaching of science and mathematics. Others, keenly aware of the benefits of an English education, are calling for the revival of English-medium schools to exist side by side with national and vernacular schools. Getting the language policy in schools right is crucial for Malaysia's future. Another big issue is whether the education system facilitates ethnic integration. Critics say that instead of integrating students of all races, the school system has polarised the population. Ethnic integration is difficult to forge in schools as Malay children attend the Malay-medium national primary schools, staffed almost entirely by Malay teachers. Chinese and Indian parents tend to enrol their children in Chinese and Tamil schools respectively, considering these to be of better quality than Malay-language government schools. Attempts at integrating students of all races through "integrated schools", "vision schools" and "cluster schools" have failed. At the tertiary level, Malays dominate public universities because of the ethnic quota policy that gives 55 per cent of places to Malays, 30 per cent to Chinese and 10 per cent to Indians. Many non-Malays who do well enough to pursue a tertiary education end up in private universities. A rising tide of Islamic fervour has also resulted in government schools becoming more "Islamic" to compete with Islamic schools for Malay students. This, however, has resulted in non-Malay children shunning government schools for vernacular ones. It will not be easy for the government to institute reforms. Education in Malaysia concerns not only the economy and the future of a generation. It is also inextricably bound up with race, and ultimately with politics. The committee may recommend reforms to the existing system. But it will require tremendous political will and difficult negotiation and consultation with relevant stakeholders to carry it out. This will be extremely difficult. And yet it will be necessary, for Malaysia's future. |
| Ringgit Slides as Europe Crisis Damps Risk Taking; Bonds Drop Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:59 PM PDT Edited by Ven Ram, Sandy Hendry, San Francisco Chronicle Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) - Malaysia's ringgit fell to a two- month low on speculation Europe's debt-market turmoil will sap the global economic recovery and prompt policy makers to halt monetary policy tightening. The currency slid 2.9 percent in seven straight days on concern a default by Greece will temper demand for emerging- market assets. The one-year interest-rate swap declined yesterday to the lowest level in 2011 after Bank Negara Malaysia kept its policy rate on hold last week, citing the possible fallout from the slowdown in the world economy. Bonds dropped. |
| Chief Jester’s Circus and Charade Comes to a Close Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:47 PM PDT
On the pages of history will be penned the public perception of a Umno lawyer picked by the Government from the Bar, parked in the Court of Appeal for a while, and placed at the pinnacle of the judiciary at an opportune time so that he and his cohorts could pander to their wishes and be paid a handsome price for bring prized lap-dogs! By Martin Jalleh Tun Zaki Tun Azmi has retired as the Chief Justice (CJ) of Bolehland. Weeks before the final curtain, he held himself in high regard in press interviews by giving rave reviews of his own tenure. He felt "very satisfied with the judiciary's achievements in less than three years" (Bernama). For a long time the mainstream press had portrayed Zaki as a "reluctant" CJ. But as his retirement date drew nearer, the Malay Mail (MM) revved up the farewell accolades by revering him as the "Judiciary's Renaissance man" (25.08.11). According to MM's executive editor Terence Fernandez the feedback he received from Zaki's contemporaries in the Federal Court including Arifin Zakaria, Raus Sharif, James Foong, Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Abdull Hamid Embong was that Zaki "has revolutionised the judiciary". Praise for Zaki's tenure also came from the Bar Council. Its chairperson Lim Chee Wee lauded him as one who has "surpassed the Bar's expectations as he has implemented many positive changes". Lim listed 11 of the changes (Malaysiakini, 06.09.11). Zaki's changes may have been impressive but the reputation of the judiciary was sullied irreparably during his term of office. In the eyes of the public the judiciary sunk so low as to allow itself to be intimidated, its independence and impartiality interfered with, and its integrity reduced to ignominy. He may have "performed very well" (according to Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee) but Zaki's judiciary continued to be a convenient playground for the ruling elite to stay in power, persecute their opponents, punish dissenters and promote their political agenda, through the perversion of the rule of law. Further, it became so predictable! Zaki took great pride in reiterating that he has never presided over any Umno-related cases during his tenure. He did not need to. His cohorts especially in the appellate courts would run the judicial circus on his behalf and even readily run riot with their ridiculous judgments, reducing the country into a judicial backwater! Little wonder the 'Perak cases' for example were made the exclusive domain of the few judges who were already looked upon with increasing dismay by the public for their perceived political partisanship. It was not difficult to guess why the well-regarded judges in the Federal Court were kept out. The latest indictment on Zaki's judiciary was in the form of an unsworn statement from the dock by Anwar Ibrahim in his sodomy trial. He explained that he was opting to testify from the dock, because he had no confidence he would be tried fairly and he showed in detail the court's undeniable bias against him thus far. He called the entire court process "nothing but a conspiracy by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to send me into political oblivion by attempting once again to put me behind bars… this is not a criminal trial. It is a charade staged by the powers that be to put me out of action in order that they remain in power." He was putting the judiciary on trial! It is very evident that the "Judiciary's Renaissance man" left behind a legacy of a judiciary scandalously compromised, shamelessly cowed and a slew of shocking contradictory and convoluted judgments. He failed to put his house into order so he shifted his furniture around to impress some of the people, like those in the Bar Council! Zaki's supposed judicial reform was shredded into smithereens and his judicial show and sham laid bare by Justice N H Chan who was furious at how the judiciary which he had served so faithfully has been reduced to a farce run by those who are "intellectual frauds". The respected, renowned and retired accused Zaki's judges of "putting themselves beyond the pale…just like pariahs". He showed why he considered some of the judges, especially those in the appellate courts - "ignorant", "incompetent", "inconsistent", "imposters" and even "idiots"! The then Chief Justice remained silent! His conspicuous and continued silence gave credence to the court of public opinion that it is one of "quiet subservience". Evidently, it would be safer to maintain the status quo and to say that he was "very satisfied with the judiciary's achievements in less than three years". There were those who interpreted Zaki's silence as him allowing, approving, aiding and abetting with members of the judiciary who had left behind a dead constitution, "bad" and "perverse" decisions, dubious declaratory orders, judgments devoid of reasoned grounds, and disgraceful double standards. The Government must have been very pleased with the fine performance of their reliable Renaissance Man. It even made a recent revision of a remuneration law in Parliament so that Zaki can ride into the sunset with a full pension after serving only for less than three years! Zaki was so touched, he invited the PM for a cup of tea but it created quite a storm! "Creatures of the Government" In Dec. 2009, Abdul Aziz Bari, a constitutional law expert, declared that the judiciary has been reduced to one that "takes its cue from the government".) But it has been the then CJ's belief that since the 1988 judicial crisis "the confidence in the judiciary has improved a great deal" (The Nut Graph, 26.03.10)! Zaki called those who criticized the judiciary for its lack of independence "a small group of vociferous people out there, who go onto the internet and blogs and Facebook and all that and make comments without knowing the proper background. Many are not even lawyers." A few months later lawyer Edmund Bon, who was then the chairman of the constitutional law committee of the Bar Council revealed that "the perception that the judiciary is executive-compliant still remains till today" (Free Malaysia Today, 17.08.10)! According to former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram: "… the judiciary has become so 'executive-minded' and that "the judges have become creatures of the government" (Malaysiakini, 16.09.10). The NST quoted Zaki on 12 May this year that feedback from lawyers showed that they were happy with the integrity of the judiciary and had not heard anything negative since 2008. He added: "I am sure many, if not all, agree that the Malaysian judiciary is now free from any criticism or accusation of bias or partiality." Very apparently he had not listened to N H Chan who had often pointed out that the "Perak crisis has brought out a host of cases that showed that the judges gave the impression that they were one-sided. The perception of the people is that they sided with the BN government." Zaki Azmi, the "Judiciary's Renaissance man" has left behind a legacy of a judiciary scandalously compromised, shamelessly cowed and a slew of shocking contradictory and convoluted judgments. Below are some examples. Cowardice & Cold Feet in the Courts The less-than-three-year tenure of Zaki Azmi saw the Federal Court shirking its responsibility to execute justice by declining to answer burning constitutional questions especially those related to conversion issues. There were instances when it chose not to make a ruling but preferred to dismiss the case on technicalities instead. There is no better example of this that the Shamala Sathiyaseelan appeal. The glaring truth is that the court of last resort in this country is not the Federal Court, but political expediency. Commenting on the issue, the Bar Council said that "the Federal Court failed to be decisive and abdicated its role as the ultimate arbiter in disputes involving constitutional questions and jurisdictional conflict." Respected lawyer Art Harun concurred: "I have lost count of the number of cases which involve inter-faith conflicts arising from conversion and re-conversion of a person from one faith to another — often from one faith to Islam and back to the original faith — where the Federal Court had chosen not to make a ruling, preferring to dismiss the case on technicalities instead." On 28 July 2010 Zaki shied away from explaining why the Court of Appeal has yet to set a hearing date for the controversial "Allah" court case more than a year after it was filed. (The Catholic Church, which had initially agreed to stay publishing the word after a series of attacks broke out nationwide following the ruling on 31 Dec. 2009, has grown anxious at the extraordinary delay.) On 8 Sept. this year, a three-member panel of the Federal Court led by Zaki, an unanimous decision, dismissed a crucial appeal by five Sarawak native customary rights landowners, a decision which will adversely affect more than 100 similar cases (Malaysiakini). Both Zaki and another member of the panel, refused to interpret the constitutional question affecting native customary right land in Sarawak with the excuse that the issue of unconstitutionality was not raised or properly canvassed before the Court. Baru Bian, one of the lawyers for the natives pointed out that there were in fact oral and written submissions on the matter. The judges "were evading the practical problem on the ground". Law professor Abdul Aziz Bari opined that by refusing to deal with the constitutionality issue, the Federal court has abdicated its duty. Contradictions Zaki's cowed judiciary took its cue from the government and this resulted in the courts being riddled with self-contradictions or courts contradicting one another, at times to a ridiculous extent! Below are some examples. On 9 Feb. the Federal Court in the case of whether PR's Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin or BNs Zambry Abd Kadir is the rightful Menteri Besar of Perak ignored (and contradicted) the established precedents. On 25 Feb. 2010 the Federal Court unanimously decided not to review its 29 Jan. decision barring Anwar Ibrahim from access to the documents "which would be tendered as part of the evidence for the prosecution" and "a written statement of facts favourable to the defence" which he is entitled to. There had been 10 previous decisions since 2001, presided by four previous chief justices where the Federal Court allowed a review of its own decision. Further, a month earlier (21.01.10) the Federal Court, acting on an application by the CJ reviewed and revised its absurd and perverse decision made a decade ago. One of the judges on the panel was Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin. He was also on the panel of the 25 Feb. hearing! In other words he contradicted himself about a month later! On 5 Aug. the election court threw out Zaid Ibrahim's petition to declare the election of P Kamalanathan as MP of Hulu Selangor on April 25 void, for Zaid failed to furnish details to back up his claims that the poll results were influenced by bribery and corruption. In the Sodomy II case the court held that the details – police reports, list of witnesses, medical reports – of the prosecution's ongoing case against Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy, details that are as a norm furnished to the defence at the start of a trial "have not been fatal to the prosecution's case". In April, in a case between ousted Perak Speaker V Sivakumar and BN assemblymen in Perak, the Federal Court ruled that it was allowed to inquire into legislative proceedings. It departed from the precedent which gives respect to the doctrine of separation of powers. On 22 Oct 2010 (in a case brought about by Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo) the High Court ruled that legislative proceedings cannot be challenged in court. The constitution was supreme and that it cannot question proceedings of the Dewan Rakyat. Other than introducing measures to speed up cases and ensure judgments are issued on time, Zaki has also been dogged by controversy during his time as CJ, the latest over amendments that allow him to get a full pension despite serving just a few years in the judiciary. On the pages of history will be penned the public perception of a Umno lawyer picked by the Government from the Bar, parked in the Court of Appeal for a while, and placed at the pinnacle of the judiciary at an opportune time so that he and his cohorts could pander to their wishes and be paid a handsome price for bring prized lap-dogs!
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| Stop squabbling for seats, DAP tells Pakatan allies Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:45 PM PDT By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — The DAP has demanded Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties stop publicly airing disagreements regarding seat negotiations, citing concerns that such incidents could affect the relationship among the coalition parties. DAP national vice chairman Tan Kok Wai said the advice also applied to his own party members, and that PR leaders should abide by rules and guidelines set out by the pact's national leadership regarding the matter. According to Tan, the PR leadership had drawn up specific guidelines during a recent coalition retreat. PR leaders and members have been ordered to negotiate seat allocations internally and to avoid openly discussing or criticising any coalition partner. Tan stressed that it was "imperative" that the guidelines be observed, and that all PR parties should be seen as trusting and co-operative at all times. But the DAP leader also admitted that discussions on seat allocations in various states are still ongoing and have "yet to be concluded." "However, positive strides are being made in finalising the seat arrangements amongst PR coalition members for the coming general elections. "The PR leadership will be making the necessary announcement at the appropriate time once the seat negotiation process has been finalised," he said in a statement today. Tan reminded his own party colleagues against making any statements that may be "misconstrued" as a sign that PR parties were involved in seat tussles. The Malaysian Insider reported on July 20 that PR leaders were confident that negotiations over state and parliamentary seat allocations among PKR, PAS and DAP could be finalised by the end of July, ahead of an anticipated early general election.
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| PAS claims Dr M out to oust Najib Posted: 13 Sep 2011 03:39 PM PDT By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — PAS today accused former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad of exploiting his influence in Umno to mastermind a plot to unseat Datuk Seri Najib Razak ahead of the next general election. PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar named the influential Dr Mahathir as the hidden hand behind an uprising within Umno's ranks against Najib and his men, pointing out that the country's longest serving prime minister had done the same to Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi during the tail-end of his career. "Dr Mahathir has returned to become the mastermind in Umno's chess game... the internal politicking and the chaos in Umno... much like what happened during the movement to topple Pak Lah (Abdullah)," the Pokok Sena MP told a press conference here. Mahfuz attributed his suspicion to a statement by Dr Mahathir during an RTM television interview on Monday when the latter urged Najib against calling for early snap polls and use the time instead to work on searching for winnable candidates for Barisan Nasional (BN). "I think that if it's held a little later, it's OK; there should be time for Najib to make an assessment on who should be chosen as a candidate," Dr Mahathir had said. Mahfuz said Dr Mahathir's was subtly hinting to Najib his view that the prime minister himself was incapable of leading BN to victory in the coming polls, seen as the ruling pact's most crucial to date after a poor showing during Election 2008. The PAS man alleged that Umno leaders themselves now consider Najib a liability to the party and are conspiring to replace him before the polls. "That is why Dr Mahathir is asking Najib to delay the polls because they are now admitting to internal pressure within Umno, they do not want the elections to be called in a situation where Najib is still the leader," he said. PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali made a similar allegation recently of a purportedly huge uprising within Umno to oust Najib amid fears that the prime minister and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor would cost BN its hold on Putrajaya in the coming polls. But the Islamist party claimed that Najib was fully aware of this movement and has refused to step down as he is determined to lead BN into the polls, expected to be held in coming months.
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| Malacca was a roadside toilet-stop Posted: 13 Sep 2011 01:40 PM PDT By John Doe In comparison, look at the Muar River, the Lembah Bujang River, and the Singapore River. According to Sejarah Melayu, the Singapore Port was already famous during Raja Secander Shah's grandfather's time. It was wide, and the waters are deep. Now contrast this to the Malacca River. It is extremely narrow, and does not permit ships to go up or down. Some have argued that the ships could have parked outside. GREAT !! Why call yourself a car-park, when you have to park outside? Why buy submarines which cannot go underwater? Why not open a "Self-service Massage Center" and claim fame? Korek Korek Korek !!! *Hint: Use Google Maps to compare the river sizes, and tell me that the Malacca River does not look like a Longkang ! And while on the topic, do also look at how all the other Empires built their Kingdoms far away from the sea. See how far inland Angkor, Ayudthaya, Lopburi, Sukkhothai, Pegu, Bagan, Borrobudor and so on were. These real Kingdoms had real brains. By building the Capital so far inland, they reduced the risk of a Naval attack. Instead, Malacca had the IQ of a door-nail. "Let's build it right next to the sea, so that 30 pitiful ships can beat our 100,000 fighting men". Malacca was massively losing money for the Dutch. In fact, it contributed to making the VOC go bankrupt ! Go read up on how the Malacca River had to be chained up every night, so that the Bugis Pirates would not loot the place. And how the sailors had to sleep on their ships for fear of the same reason. This sounds so much like how the Malaysian Police had to move their Station away from Chow Kit area, because it was too dangerous for the Police. GREAT !! Also read up on how the Sultan of Malacca went bankrupt, and how Nina Chatu had to loan him money all the time. And when the Sultan refused to repay him, Nina Chatu went to the Portuguese for help. Fortunately, the greedy Sultan decided to attack the Portuguese ship for not paying "toll" (aka extortion money) on the way to Hoi An (in Vietnam). The Portuguese went after the goods on their own, and decided to bypass the "Ketuanan Malacca". To cut a long story short, the Portuguese sent 30 ships to COLONIZE Malacca. They then wrote wonderful things about Malacca as a Strategic Defense Center, so that they could get more Military funding. Don't forget that the Napoleonic Wars were just around the corner. It helps if Malaysians had maps which extend a little more than Singapore and Hadyai. It also helps if Malaysians started learning a little more about other countries. Try this simple Trivia-Challenge: Name 10 countries which have NEVER played in any World Cup before (without looking their names up anywhere) Back to the stupid Dutch, who thought what they Portuguese wrote about Malacca was true, and decided to conquer Malacca themselves. The Dutch realized very quickly, that Malacca was not worth it, and set up heir HQ in Jakarta instead. Google all you want, and you will notice how the Dutch were simply not interested in Malacca. Anyway, when the VOC went bankrupt, they begged the British to take over Malacca. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824, also known as the Treaty of London, was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 17 March 1824. If UMNO is too dumb to read, then can someone please print a copy of the Anglo-Dutch Treaty for them. Knowing UMNO, they would probably claim that the Dutch never colonized Malacca either.... They Dutch traded Malacca for Bencoolen. (remember Bencoolen Street anyone?) Just remember that the Brits never fired a shot to take over Malacca. They were handed it, on a platter. The Brits wanted Penang and Singapore actually, but since this was the land in-between their prized possessions, they decided "Oh, what the heck". So, UMNO is now saying that the handing over the Colony of Malacca to the British did not happen? In addition, You can also read up on how all the "Perang Saudara's" were going on, and because of that, it was simply easy for the Colonizers to waltz in and take over any land they wished. And it is true. Malaysia has NEVER been Colonized. Since 1957, no one colonized Malaysia. (Well,..... unless you consider that UMNO did colonize it) In closing, do read up on the bankruptcy of the VOC here: http://gutenberg.net.au/VOC.html or another one here: http://countrystudies.us/indonesia/9.htm If Malacca was so bloody important, why was it not even mentioned ONCE? Anyone still remember how Parameswara is NOT mentioned in Sejarah Melayu? N.B. To date, no one has submitted any evidence, nor refutted what John Doe has written about Malacca |
| The Role of the Left in the Struggle for Independence Posted: 13 Sep 2011 01:31 PM PDT By Dr. Toh Kin Woon The LLG Cultural Development Centre urges the Federal Government to take cognizance of an important message to have come out of the recent debate on Mohamad Indera's role as a patriotic fighter for our country's freedom, which is that the left and progressive forces have contributed immensely to the struggle for Malaysia's independence. In this regard, we also urge the Federal Government to review the contents of our schools' history texts, with a view to accurately and objectively reflect the sacrifices and contributions of all who were genuinely involved in the anti-colonial struggles. These of course include those of UMNO and its partners in the Alliance. In addition, however, our history texts should also describe and analyze in detail the roles and struggles of Kesatuan Melayu Muda (KMM), Parti Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya (PKMM), the Malayan Peoples' Anti-Japanese Army, the All Malaya Council of Joint Action-Pusat Tenaga Rakyat (AMCJA-Putera), the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), the Labour Party and Parti Rakyat for freedom and independence from both Japanese and British imperial rule. These important episodes have, however, been blatantly marginalized, even left out of our country's historical narratives, as have been the struggles of the anti-Japanese forces during the period of the Japanese occupation; the Peoples' Constitution, with its stress on democracy and equality, as drafted by the AMCJA-PUTERA Alliance; the 1947 hartal; the struggles of the labour movement in both Malaya and Singapore, before and after independence; the struggle of vernacular education movements; the role of the MCP in helping to shorten the transition to independence; the struggle of the Labour Party and Parti Rakyat for a socialist democratic Malaysia; the use of the Internal Security Act by the Alliance Government to cripple the left movement; the May 13 inter-ethnic conflict which was the result of the political machinations of certain political leaders and the students movement of the seventies and their struggles for a more socially just Malaysia. As a result, official history texts, as they are presently structured, are unable to narrate accurately the trials and tribulations of Malaysian peoples' heroic and courageous struggles, especially those of the progressive, patriotic and nationalist forces for independence, democracy, human rights, equality and social justice. Indeed, these have been by design either obliterated, or demonized. Given this deliberate distortion and creation of voids, the need to review our history texts with a view to correcting these distortions and filling the voids becomes all the more imperative and urgent. Finally, the LLG Cultural Development Centre would like to appeal to the Federal Government and certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to respect the right to free speech of Mat Sabu, the Deputy President of Pas. Everyone and anyone should have the right to interpret history based on his or her values and the facts he or she has at hand. Up till now, many NGOs have made police reports. This is construed as intimidation. To us, theses actions are tantamount to restricting Mat Sabu's right to free speech and freedom of expression. We are, however, relieved to hear the rational decision made by Hishamuddin Hussein that the Federal Government will not resort to the use of the ISA to detain without trial Mat Sabu. We also hope that both the police and the Attorney General will likewise respect the right of Mat Sabu to his interpretation of history and that they will not take any action against the latter.
DR TOH KIN WOON is Chairman of LLG Cultural Development Centre |
| Malaysian rapper skewers racial ties in new film Posted: 13 Sep 2011 01:25 PM PDT By MSN Philippines News An ethnic Chinese rapper accused of stirring Malaysian racial tensions has brought his social commentary to cinemas with a food-themed comedy celebrating the country's mixed cultural recipe.
But Wee Meng Chee -- better known by the alias Namewee -- characteristically pulls few punches in "Nasi Lemak 2.0," an unusually daring exploration of a tide of racial distrust that has stoked concern in multi-ethnic Malaysia. The comedy, named after the national rice dish and which opened last week, takes an unflinching but ultimately fond look at many of the racial stereotypes that Muslim-majority Malaysia's various ethnic groups aim at each other. The main character, an arrogant chef played by Wee, expresses revulsion at Islamic practices such as circumcision. In another scene, an ethnic Chinese student complains of difficulty getting into college, a reference to quota policies and other privileges favoring the dominant Malay ethnic group. "My message is that the system in Malaysia is unequal... But when we live together, we eat together, there is no racism," said Wee, sitting for an interview with AFP wearing his trademark beanie pulled down to his eyes. More than half of Malaysia's near 28 million population are Malay Muslims, who live alongside sizeable Chinese, Indian and indigenous minorities. Overt racial and religious antagonism has been largely avoided since deadly race riots in 1969. But tensions have increased recently amid rising resentment over the Malay preferential policies, a trend toward what many say is increasing Islamisation of society, and other recent disputes. Wee first stirred the hornet's nest in 2007, shooting to celebrity with a song mocking the national anthem. In 2009, authorities threatened sedition charges over another song, "Nah" -- based on a real incident -- which lashes out a Malay school headmistress who makes racist slurs against her ethnic Chinese and Indian students. Wee insists he is a patriotic Malaysian and that his art is meant to provoke a positive discussion leading to fairness and social harmony. With potentially divisive snap elections expected to be called soon, Prime Minister Najib Razak has pushed his "1Malaysia" campaign promoting ethnic unity, and Wee said the film was meant to support that. However, he adds: "I want to show the real Malaysia, how we live together. For 1Malaysia to work we have to be treated equally." "I just want to share my music, my creativity with my true feelings without hiding anything." The film's plot is anchored in Malaysia's undisputed common cultural touchstone: love of the country's diverse and spicy cuisine. Wee plays Chef Huang, who studied Chinese cooking in China and ridicules Malay food. Roped into a cooking competition, he finds however that he needs the help of people from all races -- including a Malay with four wives and Indians who dance Bollywood-style -- to create a delicious new version of nasi lemak. Co-producer Fred Chong told AFP the movie -- which mixes several of the nation's languages and dialects -- made more than 1.5 million ringgit ($500,000) in its first four days in cinemas, closing in on a previous high of 1.6 million ringgit for a movie by an ethnic Chinese producer. Malaysia's film market is dominated by Malay and, above all, Hollywood films. "Nasi Lemak 2.0" was made on less than 1 million ringgit after private investors pulled out last year, spooked by the threat of sedition charges against Wee. None were ever filed. Despite the film's positive message, Wee remains outspoken. He said "Nasi Lemak 2.0" was aimed at Internet-savvy Malaysian youngsters fed up with official calls for unity by the Malay-dominated government that has been in power for decades. "Our government always treats the people who are against them or disagree with them as criminals," he added, referring to the threatened sedition charges. With its cast of local stars, song-and-dance numbers, martial arts routines, and numerous jokes drawing on current events, the movie has proven a hit with some, and Wee's Facebook page has been bombarded with supportive postings. "Nasi Lemak 2.0 may not be perfect, but it has its moments," leading English daily The Star said in a review. "It's a Malaysian movie, yes, but it is out to make us take a good hard look at ourselves... and laugh."
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| Malaysia PM: Expect To Touch 5% Economic Growth In 2011 Posted: 13 Sep 2011 01:19 PM PDT By Ankur Relia KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Malaysia's export-driven economy is likely to expand 5% this year, but a serious downturn in the global economy will hurt its prospects for further growth, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Tuesday. "To get beyond 5% growth we need strong external demand," Najib told participants in Forbes Global CEO Conference in Kuala Lumpur. |
| MAS sponsorship for Queen Park Rangers jersey to cost RM18mil Posted: 13 Sep 2011 01:00 PM PDT This is how the new queens park rangers home jersey will look like now that Malaysia Airlines are the new sponsors. (The Star) - PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) recently-announced sponsorship for the Queen Park Rangers (QPR) home jersey in the Barclays Premier League will cost the national carrier some RM18mil or 3.7mil, according to a source. The total sponsorship fee for both MAS and AirAsia for the English professional football club, which involves a term of two years, would cost some RM30mil (6.2mil), the source added. "MAS will take up a bulk or almost 60% of the total fees while the remaining will be forked out by AirAsia Bhd and its related companies which could also involve AirAsia X. "Typically, the home jersey sponsorship is more expensive than the away jersey," the source said. On Monday, MAS and AirAsia signed a jersey deal for QPR which will see the MAS logo adorn the jersey at home while the AirAsia logo will be used on the team's away games. "This sponsorship is the first major initiative of our new brand and marketing strategy that would see important advertising money spent on boosting our top line. This is a key component in our drive to regain global market share, profitability," said MAS executive director Mohammed Rashdan Yusof. Even so, most analysts are not thrilled. Their main grouse is that MAS should instead be focusing on strengthening its flagging financial status and showing some concrete moves towards this end. Moreover, the crucial post of a chief executive officer for MAS has still yet to be filled. The sponsorship deal by the two airlines closely follows a landmark share-swap deal involving the major shareholders of the respective airlines in early August which had turned the rivals into allies. AirAsia's chief steward and major shareholder Tan Sri Tony Fernandesand his partner, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, collectively own a 75% stake in Tune QPR Sdn Bhd, which in turn owns 66% of QPR Holdings Ltd. Fernandes, who only recently acquired the stake in the football club, is currently chairman of QPR. In an earlier announcement to Bursa Malaysia, AirAsia said it would cough up some RM2.4mil or 500,000 as sponsorship fees for the duration of the two-year term. Only in June this year, Genting UK, the largest casino operator in Britain, sealed a pact to be the main jersey sponsor for Aston Villa for two years. Although the amount was not disclosed, a source said the total sponsorship fees for the two years collectively involved some RM17mil or 3.5mil.
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| Najib: NEP to stay, but with modifications Posted: 13 Sep 2011 12:42 PM PDT (The Malaysian Insider) - The prime minister reassured Malaysians that affirmative action policies introduced in the New Economic Policy (NEP), however they would evolve to become more market friendly and merit based. Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government was setting out to create more opportunities for Bumiputeras rather than just imposing quotas in economic activities, Bernama Online reported. Najib, who is also the finance minister, said that there is realisation the NEP is not popular with the market, and also not really helping Bumiputeras.
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Taib, Premier Najib Razak and Deutsche Bank have not commented on the German government's investigation into alleged money-laundering: it appearsTaib and Najib continue to hope that the German and Swiss financial regulators' attentions will simply blow over.
Taib's spokesperson, and second minister at Taib's omnipotent natural resources and planning ministry, Awang Tengah Hassan (right), announced last Friday that the government would first build the Baleh hydroelectric power (HEP) dam, upstream from the notorious Bakun dam in central Sarawak, before taking on the Baram dam.
The Baram dam was destined to be another windfall for loggers granted access to the vacated native lands, and construction companies awarded contracts for the dam. CMS, and other companies owned by members of Taib's family, have already prospered from past dam contracts.
Mahfuz (left) said Mahathir was being widely seen as the mastermind behind a plan to oust Najib before the general election.
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